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Idaho
Trails
During
the 1840s and 1850s, Idaho was not yet a destination
for settlers. Instead, many were traveling to California
to mine for gold, or to settle in the fertile Willamette
Valley of Oregon. Although groups were not yet settling
in Idaho, thousands of people crossed through her
on the California and Oregon trails making their
way to the Pacific states. The first group of settlers
to Oregon passed through the state in 1841. This
group was followed by more groups in 1842, but the
numbers would rise dramatically after 1843 with
the commencement of the "Great Migration" to Oregon.
California also received thousands of migrants after
gold was discovered in 1848. Between 1849 and 1860,
an estimated 41,550 people crossed Idaho on route
to Oregon and 200,000 people for California.(5)
The Oregon and California trails, which passed through
southern Idaho, were historically most important,
but the Mullan Road in the north became significant
as well. This government-funded road connected the
end of the navigated portion of the Missouri River
with the Columbia. Although this trail was not typically
used by migrants, it was very useful to the army.
It would also become a highly trafficked route used
by gold rushers in the 1860s and by cattlemen driving
herds from the upper Columbia to mines in Montana.
Eureka! Idaho's Gold Rush
With
the exception of the Mormon migration to southern
Idaho, Idaho's white settlement would be stimulated
by the discovery of gold. When the California gold
rush began to decline, miners sought gold in other
places, including Colorado, Nevada, Montana, and
Idaho. Elias Davidson Pierce is credited with discovering
gold in Idaho. Pierce first traveled through Idaho,
specifically Nez Perce territory, in 1852. He believed
that there could be gold in the area, so he returned
in 1857 to prospect, but conflict with the Nez Perce
was too great for him to stay. However, the United
States Army would defeat the Nez Perce soon after
forcing them onto a reservation and making the territory
safe for American travelers. Pierce returned to
the area in 1860 and asked the Nez Perce for permission
to prospect a mine on their reservation. His request
was denied. Instead of trying to negotiate, Pierce
gathered a group of miners together and snuck onto
the land. Pierce and his team built a mining camp
in the north fork of the Clearwater River where
they quickly and easily found gold. The news about
their discovery spread quickly, and by May of 1861,
there were 1,000 miners in the newly founded Pierce
City.(6) Gold would also be discovered
in other locations in Idaho, such as Florence, Boise
Basin, and near the Salmon River. In June of 1861,
the town of Lewiston was founded with an initial
population of 3,000. By the end of 1863, Boise Basin
had a population of 16,000 miners.(7)
The discovery of silver, lead, and quartz continued
to draw miners until the end of the century. Mining
in Idaho developed into big business that earned
millions of dollars and employed thousands people.
Discoveries of quartz, lead, and silver created
rushes into the panhandle and the southeastern regions
of Idaho. The mining rush in Coeur d'Alene increased
the population from 7,000 in 1880, to 25,000 in
1890.(8) The discovery of gold, lead,
and silver quickly populated Idaho and sparked the
movement toward independence from Washington Territory.
| Table 1: Idaho Mining
Rushes(9) |
|
Location
|
Years
|
Mineral(s)
|
|
Clearwater
|
1860-1866
|
Gold
|
|
Florence
|
1861
|
Gold
|
|
Boise Basin
|
1863-1866
|
Gold
|
|
Owyhee
|
1863-1866
|
Gold, Silver
|
|
Wood River
|
1880-1882
|
Gold, Silver, Lead
|
|
Coeur d' Alene
|
1882-1889
|
Gold, Silver, Lead
|
By
1861, miners were becoming agitated over the fact
that Washington had not set up any type of government
or law enforcement in the mining areas. At this
time, Idaho was part of Washington Territory, but
was so far away from the capital (Olympia) that
it did not receive much attention. The miners took
matters into their own hands and held a meeting
to elect officials and create Shoshone County. It
became apparent that Idaho was too isolated for
Washington to govern properly, so Idaho became its
own territory on March 4, 1863 with President Lincoln's
signing of the Organic Act.
| Table 2: Idaho's Boundary
History |
|
Years
|
Transformation of Idaho
|
|
1805-1820
|
Part of Columbia River
Country
|
|
1820-1848
|
Part of Oregon Country
|
|
1853-1859
|
Congress splits Oregon
and Washington Territory; northern Idaho
becomes part of Washington Territory, southern
Idaho becomes part of Oregon Territory
|
|
1859-1863
|
Oregon becomes a state,
all of Idaho becomes part of Washington
Territory
|
|
1863-1890
|
Idaho Territory established
|
|
1890
|
State of Idaho established
|
Natives vs. Americans: Idaho's
Indian Removal
The
history of violence between whites and Native Americans
in Idaho dates back to the earliest instances of
white settlement. White settlement threatened the
Native Americans' way of life, causing much tension
between the two groups. In 1847, missionaries Marcus
and Narcissa Whitman, and twelve others were murdered
at their mission by Cayuse Indians. The Whitman
Massacre prompted the Spaldings to leave Idaho for
Oregon. Clashes between travelers and Indians along
the trails were not uncommon. Eventually the United
States Army would become involved, forcing Idaho's
Native population onto reservations. It took wars
with the Coeur d'Alenes, Shoshone, Northern Paiutes,
and Nez Perce to successfully move them onto reservations.
The
first of these wars took place in 1858 between American
forces and the Coeur d'Alene, Yakima, and Spokane
Indians. The tribes defeated the Americans near
Rosalia, Washington, but were later put down and
forced onto reservations by American troops under
the command of Colonel George Wright.
In
the early 1860s, the Bannock and Shoshone Indians
in southern Idaho were becoming increasingly aggressive
toward passing wagon trains. Travelers reported
instances of thievery and attacks. Major Edward
McGarry was sent to investigate, and reportedly
executed Shoshone for their actions. McGarry's executions
angered the Shoshone even more, prompting them to
threaten to kill any white person they found above
the Bear River. American forces, led by Colonel
Patrick Edward Connor, were sent to confront the
Shoshone, but their encounter turned into a massacre
that left many Shoshone dead. This incident quelled
the attacks for a short period of time, but it would
take nearly a decade to negotiate the Shoshone onto
a reservation.
The
attempt made by the western Shoshone and the Northern
Paiutes to drive out the whites in their area became
known as the Snake War (1866-1868). The Indians
interrupted mail service and attacked miners, farmers,
and soldiers. The attacks came to an end after General
George Crook negotiated a treaty that placed the
Indians on the Idaho-Nevada Duck Valley Reservation.(10)
The
most famous of Idaho's Indian wars was the Nez Perce
War. In 1876, because of Americans' desperation
for land, it was declared that all remaining Nez
Perce had to relocate to the Lapwai Reservation.
The leader of the Nez Perce, Chief Joseph, attempted
to negotiate with the Americans, iterating that
they did not want to leave their land. Chief Joseph's
pleas proved unsuccessful and the Nez Perce were
given until June 14, 1877 to relocate to Lapwai.
It was on the journey to the reservation where war
broke out when a group of Nez Perce killed four
men in the Salmon River Valley. A cavalry of 100
men were sent in retaliation. The battle resulted
in 34 cavalrymen dead, and only two Nez Perce wounded.
The Nez Perce did not want more violence, and continued
on their journey. Minor skirmishes along the way
prompted the military to react as if at war. The
army caught up with the Nez Perce on the banks of
the Clearwater River and attacked, but the battle
ended in a draw. The Indians would continue over
the Lolo Trail into Montana to hunt buffalo. Here,
they were attacked again in Montana's Big Hole Basin,
resulting in major casualties. More than eighty
Nez Perce were killed, including over fifty women
and children. There was one last battle in October
of 1877, resulting in the surrender of the Nez Perce.
The Nez Perce were taken to a reservation in Oklahoma,
instead of the Lapwai Reservation as agreed upon.
It took Chief Joseph eight years to get the government
to move the Nez Perce to either the Lapwai Reservation
in Idaho or the Colville Reservation in Washington.
By 1880, Idaho's Native American population had
been subdued onto reservations, making the land
clear for white settlement.
Next
Page >>
(5) Arrington, 134.
(6) Arrington, 188.
(7) Arrington, 196.
(8) Arrington, 360.
(9) Arrington, 185.
(10) F. Ross Peterson, Idaho, a Bicentennial
History, (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,1976),
75.
By
Rickie Lazzerini
Historian
BA History
University of California, Santa Barbara
Index
of Historical Reviews
© 2006 Rickie Lazzerini,
All Rights Reserved
This page may be freely linked to but may not
be reproduced
in any form without prior written consent from
the author.
|
